I have been waiting for self-driving cars my whole life. Imagine the explosion in productivity that would come from liberating the millions of usable hours Americans spend driving every day. Self-driving cars could cut down on fuel consumption DRASTICALLY, increase global productivity, and reduce tragic and costly traffic accidents. I think making self-driving cars a reality should be a top priority for the next decade of R&D.

"Would you want to be on the road with computer-driven cars?"
-> The answer is no. Who would say yes? What if they malfunction?

"Would you rather be on the road with computer-driven cars or human-driven cars?"
-> Who would say human? Computers are faster, more precise, don't get road rage and don't text their lovers while driving.

With self-driving cars, there is no need to own one. When you need a ride, you call up the service and a vehicle shows up at your door, well suited for the number of passengers, length of drive, and amount of cargo. The general purpose family car disappears. So do garages, driveways, and parking lots. Mobility is the same for people aged 10, 40, and 70. So self-driving cars mean more than not having to pilot your vehicle -- it changes the way we live and build, almost as much as the invention of the automobile itself did.

If they are going to be self-driving, they will have to have some kind of programming to do the driving. I'm afraid I know too much about the quality of programming typically provided to want to trust my life to it.

And yes, I do know that there are automated landing systems for airplanes. But I also know that there are live pilots right there to take over when the program crashes at the wrong moment. And airplane landings have a lot fewer variables to deal with than a car driving around a city.

personally, i enjoy driving at breathtaking speeds, pushing the limit on corners and curves (don't tell the California Highway Patrol). BUT i don't talk (on the phone) or text while driving and have never been involved in accident (and i started driving at 12).
that said, self driving cars would be a good idea for the idiots who can't drive, for the idiots who like to talk (on the phone) while driving, for the idiots who like to text while driving, for the idiots who can not focus on the road while driving, and for the idiots who like to put on make-up while driving; and ofcourse for the idiots who are too lazy to drive themselves.

agreed, less idiots in the cockpits of planes.
in addition, as a pilot, i can attest to the fact that those big planes (commercial jet liners) have many back-up systems to the primary systems.
let's just hope microsoft doesn't create the software for the self-driving cars -- if you fail to get the last patch, oh well, we'll come to your funeral.

Would you really trust the equivalent of Microsoft Windows driving your car?

Gates once supposedly remarked to a car executive on the lack of innovation in the automobile industry in contrast to software, and the car executive allegedly responded by saying "but Bill we can't have our cars crash twice daily"

To be honest, I could see self-directed light cars (glorified golf carts) for the elderly having value for areas littered with retirement homes (think Florida). Probably would include a program for moving the seat and facilitating ingress and egress from the vehicle.

Interesting the enthusiasm for this concept in both Brazil and Estados Unidos....even possibly Australia too....

Due to long distances? I would think it better to have the excuse of driving than to have to deal with the kids arguing and getting bored in the backseats on family vacations...

let's just hope microsoft doesn't create the software for the self-driving cars -- if you fail to get the last patch, oh well, we'll come to your funeral.

Amen, brother, amen!

One of the mysteries of the world is how Microsoft manages to be successful with the miserable excuse for quality control that they have. Any other software firm that put out products that wretched would have been out of business long since.

The problem as I foresee it is that self-driving cars would be too safe and conservative. How often have there been accidents and delays because a driver would wait for that perfect gap to merge or that time when someone slowed down, and thus slowed down all traffic?

In my part of Canada, there is a toll road that offers an option from the traditional freeway. I notice that on the toll road, because the fees are high, that only a select group of people use it - nice, well-maintained cars, with confident drivers determined to pay to get to their destination ahead of using the traditional route. This cross-section of drivers is quite aggressive, often weaving in traffic and exceeding the posted speed limit - and yet, the almost absence of accidents and the incredible flow of this route despite high volumes is noticeable compared to the traditional freeway with its hourly accidents and delays. Further, there are very few drivers on the toll road that travel far less than the speed limit, using the slow lane and refusing to pass. My point is that there has to be a certain level of risk-taking to make the system worthwhile. A risk-free system is undesirable. Further, the so-called super-safe drivers who go less than the speed limit while using the middle lane to avoid having to deal with those entering the freeway from adjacent lanes -actually- attract excessive risk. Other drivers, in their desire to get around this slow vehicle will take ridiculous risks and substantially increase the danger on the road in general. I am not convinced that a self-driving car with its likely 'almost religious' adherence to rules and safety would make the freeways safer when mixed with typical folks. One may argue that if everyone followed the rules religiously that flow would be good and roadways safe, given their current volumes. I am not convinced. It would be interesting to see 1000 of these automated cars on a road by themselves, subject to the same flow, and see how successful the roadway is - both in safety and volume flow. Can't wait to see that. At the end of the day, if a roadway goes twice as slow because we are being overly conservative, is it still worthwhile using that method of travel? People expect a certain level of productivity from their roadway until they start making decisions to 'give up'. And often those 'give up' decisions negatively affect the economy asa whole.

As America, and most of the developed world, ages, it might be a way the elderly can still be mobile without the need for cabs or relatives/friends to transport them. Psychologically and financially that might be a very good thing.

as cabs and for folks with handicaps to begin with, then congested urban areas, mass use seems to be is a way off, maybe sometime after mass use of electric hybrids; there's a certain romance to driving..